Monmouth, OR – Michael Harper had a season-high 21 points as the Simon Fraser University men's basketball team challenged No. 15 Western Oregon until the buzzer, ultimately falling 93-91 to the Wolves in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon.

 "We had a great team effort again tonight," said head coach James Blake. "Justin had a shot to win the game and it looked good, but unfortunately it back-ironed and didn't fall. We missed some easy chippy shots around the rim and some crucial free throws."

It was a gritty match that saw the lead change 12 times throughout 40-minutes, but the Clan were unable to hang on for the win against a very skilled Wolves side.

Leading 81-80 with seven minutes remaining, the Clan was caught flat as Western Oregon took a quick four-point lead 88-84.

A pair of back-to-back lay-ins by Patrick Simon and Justin Cole brought SFU within a single point, but the Wolves were able to hang on to win 93-91. Cole had a chance to win the game for Simon Fraser, missing a three-point attempt from the wing as the clock wound down.

Joining Harper in double figures were Roderick Evans-Taylor, Sango Niang, and Justin Cole with 17, 12, and 10 points, respectively, while Niang added six assists and Evans-Taylor had eight rebounds.

Cole had a chance to win the game for Simon Fraser, as he missed a three-pointer from the wing as time expired after getting a near wide-open look at the basket.
 
Simon Fraser was a combined 32-for-63 (50.8%) from the field, 11-for-27 (40.7%) from beyond-the-arc, and 16-of-24 (66.7%) at the free throw-line on the night, while Western Oregon shot 32-for-65 (49.2%) from the field knocking down 12-of-26 (46.2%) from three-point range and 17-of-26 (65.4%) at the free throw line.

"We just couldn't turn them over in our press consistently," Blake continued. "But we outrebounded a very big team and I am proud of how we keep battling in these games."

With the loss the Clan falls to 11-14 overall and 6-11 in GNAC play, and the team will look to bounce back with a victory to close their 2015 campaign as they travel to Western Washington this Thursday.
In the last meeting between the two teams Simon Fraser upset a then-ranked Vikings program 122-118, earning the Clan's first victory over WWU in 15 meetings.

SFU will look to recreate that win on Thursday in Bellingham. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. and fans can follow live at portal.stretchinternet.com/wwu.

Thursday's match marks the final game for Clan seniors Sango Niang, Justin Cole and Daniel Deflorimonte. Tonight, watch our feature on Justin and his time with SFU:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4EoyBU9Rko.